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Finances & Money

Guess what…We don’t have credit card debt anymore!

September 15, 2007
By Clever Dude
- Leave a Comment

I couldn’t fall asleep Friday night, so I decided to look at our budget a little more closely. I had postponed the final payment for our credit card debt until early October because we have some other bills this month. However, I realized that I had the due date for those bills about a month too early.

I flipped the amounts around and was able to pay off the last $1,187 of our original $20,000 in credit card debt tonight! Actually, I was talking with a friend and recalled that at one point last year, that debt was closer to $23,000, but I just use $20k as an even number. That debt was dogging me for the last 6+ years, and it’s finally gone.

How do I feel? Eh, tired. Relieved. But I probably won’t celebrate until Citibank notifies me that they have received the payment. That’s when it will hit home. However, it’s now onto our next debt: my student loan.

How did we do it? Perseverance. I made a plan and stuck to it. The end date was motivated by an expiring 0% balance transfer offer on my Citibank card, where I had about $12,000 for a year. I worked backwards from that point to find out how much I needed to pay each month to get rid of the debt in a year.

Granted, we make a decent income to be able to pay over $2,000 extra per month to our debt (first our one car and then the credit cards), but we also live a fairly frugal lifestyle. Our frugal lifestyle doesn’t involve reusing paper towels or taking baths every third day. Rather, we just avoid buying stuff we don’t need, unless we really want to treat ourselves. Our latest two treats were some nice gifts for Stacie’s 30th birthday (much deserved too) and a Nintendo Wii for both of us.

Stacie wears very little makeup. We don’t buy DVDs, we rent them. We don’t go clubbing. We lead a pretty boring lifestyle, but it suits us. We don’t feel like being trend-setters or go-getters. Instead, we wanted to focus on getting our financial house in order, as well as advancing our careers through additional projects (Stacie) or a masters degree (Me). So all in all, we worked at both cutting costs, as well as increasing income through hard work and a little ingenuity (this site and Building Nutrition).

So when you think you can never get out from that mountain of debt, remember these 3 tips:

1. Stop spending so much (and maybe try to develop additional income if you’re able)
2. Create a budget and a goal
3. Stick to the plan

There’s not much more to it! Oh, and be prepared for emergencies, disaster, or Murphy’s Law.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. students building credit says

    September 25, 2007 at 1:50 pm

    Wow you did a great job! I hope you have inspired more people who are facing the same situation.

    Reply
  2. barry broome says

    November 3, 2007 at 11:25 am

    Well done!! I’m right behind you – I had 22,000 15 months ago and have it down to $7,000. Haven’t bought anything on credit in 2 years and never will again – well i hope never – I hope I’ve learned my lesson. Well CONGRATULATIONS

    Reply
  3. Adeem Zafar says

    November 18, 2007 at 10:35 pm

    Congratulations on paying off your credit card debt! I’ve just started to tackle my debt and I just hope it takes less time!

    Reply
  4. barry b. says

    November 25, 2007 at 9:23 pm

    Congratulations – now stay out of debt. I’ve got 7,000 left in credit card debt and almost done as well. I’ve managed to salvage my credit report and my dignity by paying everything back the hard way. Good luck!!

    Reply
  5. Our Debt Blog says

    November 28, 2007 at 4:13 pm

    I love this post! I’m going to save this to keep me motivated, I want to be just like you!!

    Reply
  6. Simon Maders says

    December 14, 2007 at 4:32 pm

    My dad has always told me to cut mine up with a pair of scissors, wish I’d listen to him ! Your story’s given me a much needed kick. thanks clever dude.

    Reply
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Trackbacks

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